Little River Bar-B-Que

Excellent BBQ with a great view of the river.

Barbecue was excellent service was very good would recommend would return. The st. Louis ribs and brisket was also very tasty set out on the porch weather was perfect

Service can make or break a restaurant and in this place, the service was good after a few minutes. Our waitress was quite matter-​of-​fact at first, which gave the impression that she was being standoffish. Once she warmed up, she was quite nice.
We ate here as part of a deal with River Rage, where we got unlimited tubing (once down the river is enough for this guy) and lunch, which was a sandwich, side, and drink. Tip not included. We also ordered BBQ Pork Potato Skins and Fried Pickles, both of which were good. My younger daughter and I had fries, which were… fries. My wife had corn on the cob and my older daughter had baked beans. All were textbook. Nothing to report here.
The food is not by any means «to die for» but it is good and the Sweet-​n-​Spicy BBQ sauce made that pulled pork sing. We sat on the screened-​in porch overlooking the river and had a great time. Look for the coupon and do the tubing and the lunch. It’s a deal at twice the price.

Always eat here, all the food I’ve eaten over the years is always really good here, the fried pickles are to die for, their pulled pork sandwich is really good an I usually don’t get salads but their pulled pork salad was really good an their ranch is homemade an so yummy, well priced

We found a group deal for river tubing, go-​kart riding, and lunch at this restaurant for only $ 20. We were not expecting the quality of BBQ or service that we received!
For lunch, we each got a BBQ sandwich, 1 side, and a drink. Two of us got the fries, and the third party got their baked beans. Although the sides were okay, the sandwiches were fantastic. We liked it so much, we came back for dinner.
Two of us got the same meals as at lunch, trying their hush puppies instead of fries, and our third member got a pork plate with onion rings and cole slaw. We were just as impressed with the food and service at dinner as at lunch!
Would definitely return.

This was a fresh little barbecue place tucked away right beside the river. You can get a special deal here with the tubing place next door and get a free meal or 10% off your order depending on which special you go wth. But it is worth it to eat her despite the deals.
The barbecue and their sauce were delicious, in fact some if the best that I have had in a long time. I got the pulled chicken sandwich (hallelujah to a barbecue place having pulled chicken!) with their baked beans the first time. The baked beans were not stellar, but the food was so good we decided to go back and have the barbecue a second time. The second time I got the same sandwich, only larger and the hush puppies and they were delicious. I think that hush puppies were some of the best I have ever had. They were crunchy, and delicious. If I lived closer I would come more often.

Ridiculous. 1 pounds of pulled pork for take out took more than 23 minutes based on my receipt time. There were four tables filled so it was not busy. When I first complained, the hostess said she was sorry but they were having an issue with their fryer. I ordered pulled pork which shouldn’t be affected by a fryer! I finally asked for a refund and when the hostess went in the back, she came back out with my pork. Insane. I would understand if I ordered several meals, but for a pound of supposedly slow cooked pork, I would expect maybe a for minute wait on a slow night…

Ate here twice while in town. Brisket and pork are great! Husband had chicken tenders and he enjoyed them. Great service both times and friendly. Good atmosphere with the screened porch right on the river. A Townsend must!

Best BBQ in Townsend by far. Ribs and more with two meats. Outstanding brisket. Very tender and great flavor. Pork and ribs are great. You can eat without any sauce. However, we really liked their mustard sauce. Fried okra and slaw to top it off. We would go back if we weren’t leaving in the morning. There is a reason this place has been open for several years. Great place to eat.

Waking into an empty, depressingly quiet dinning room, I knew this couldn’t be good. There where a few occupied tables on the deck but it was also depressingly quiet. It was so quiet I could hear the kitchen and wait staff going at it along with chef mic working to his maximum. That’s chef microwave. BEEEEP. Beans where boring. Coleslaw and dinner roll was good. Ribs didn’t have much flavor. The center was cool (thanks chef mic). Bbq sauce was necessary. Adding cold bbq sauce to cool ribs is disgusting. The parts that were hot where just ok with the sauce. Did I mention how depressing the atmosphere is? Play some music or have some tv going! I feel sorry for the nice wait staff and quick kitchen staff because this place shouldn’t last long.

After a few hours in the Great Smoky Mountains, I came out in the Townsend end and looked for a place to eat. This was one of the first places I saw so I decided to try it.
You can choose to sit inside or outside by the river. There’s a screen so you won’t be bothered by bugs or animals.
I got the half rack dinner with potato salad and corn. The ribs tasted great and weren’t overly drenched like at other places so it wasn’t messy to eat.
There were a fair amount of people who were just chilling in here and not eating so I guess this place would make a nice place to relax after a day in the park.
The serving staff is really attentive and they constantly check on tables. The younger employees who work the cash register should pay a little more attention though. I was ready to pay at the counter but it turned out they were all just sitting outside chatting.

We stopped here before tubing on the river and had some beers and fried pickles. The hostess was a little off-​putting and kind of rude but our server was really sweet and on top of things. Fried pickles were awesome. They came with ranch, horseradish sauce, and some kind of bbq/​honey mustard on the side for dipping. All were great. Hush puppies were good too. Pretty good selection of beer to choose from. I would definitely go back.

Really good ribs and great cole slaw and baked beans. Ribs were not drenched in sause which was a plus. Good bread and good Ice Tea. Staff was friendly and the food served hot and fast.

The staff was friendly. We had beef brisket sandwich & slaw, It was ok. Back porch dining on the river Awsome.

Very good BBQ. I had the ribs and my wife had a pulled-​pork sandwich. The setting was wonderful, we sat outside in a screened in porch on the river. The service was good, not particularly fast, but it was such a nice view, we weren’t in a hurry.

Staff was very friendly and helpful, but the food was so-​so. I had the pulled pork sandwich, which was very dry. The fried Okra was good but cold by the time we got it. Hushpuppies were over cooked. The water had a distinct chlorine aroma and flavor, and the beer was warm.
I would look elsewhere for good BBQ.

We went in for a to go order and ended up waiting for almost 45 mins to get our food to go. The place is way under staff and the management is running around like chicken with no head ! she was bad mouth talking about how bad her son in law were ! That was unprofessional ! we did not need to hear about her family issues just needed our food.
We ordered a full rack of Rib, half pound of beef, half pound of pork, bake bean, cole slaw.
EVERYTHING WAS SO DRY!!! the beef was so chewy, they were no marble in it at all!!! GROSS, the pork was also dry but not as bad as the beef, the rib were dry as well, on top of that ALL of our meats were COLD!
We ended up gave the food to the homeless dog that we saw.
The reviews that they have got in the past is WAY over rated, I will not return again for sure!!!

We stopped here after a drive to Cade’s Cove to grab a bite to eat on the way back to Maryville. All I wanted was some good barbecue and that’s exactly what I was served. There was wonderful seating in a screened in back porch right on the river. It was the perfect way to end a great day in the mountains.

Ate here in June when we were passing through Townsend for an early lunch post Cades Cove.
I loved the outside space looking out onto the River and adored the setting watching the birds flitting about the trees, and the tinkle of the river moving by.
Just for a snack I had a pulled pork sandwich and my boyf had corn and onion rings. I liked the pulled pork a lot altuogh i got the sense it may have been microwaved as it had a very hot part to it. Onion rings were really good. Corn was over-​cooked and soggy.
Waitress was very sweet and service was attentive. Would go back if I was in Townsend again, which I hope to do one day!

This is a great place for bbq just outside of the Smoky Mountains National Park. The location and quality make it tough to beat.
The staff is very nice and helpful if you want suggestions. I ordered a hefty bbq sandwich with corn on the cob. The sandwich was delicious and the meal was pretty reasonably priced for what could otherwise be a tourist trap (it’s not!). There is indoor and covered-​outdoor seating available — the outdoor seating is perched right above a grassy area just next to a small river. The ambiance itself is relaxing, let alone the comfort you will enjoy in your food coma.
Eating here is the perfect icing on the cake after an enjoyable day in the mountains!